Shuttle Diplomacy is confession of crimes, Mutula says

By Linah Benyawa and Sandra Chao

The justice and constitutional affairs minister Mutula Kilonzo has criticised the government’s efforts to seek deferral of the ICC cases against six suspects.

Mutula condemned VP Kalonzo Musyoka’s shuttle diplomacy, saying seeking deferral is an admission that the suspects had committed crimes against humanity.

He noted that the move is an indication that the gravity of the case is sufficient to pass the threshold of international crime.

Mutula said the government should instead encourage the Ocampo six to present themselves to The Hague and see the evidence tabled against them. He observed that the court shall justify if the cases are admissible. Mutula was speaking in Mombasa during the United Nations and human rights partners’ forum. He said the government should have put more emphasis to strengthen the judicial institutions so that it could have a strong case in challenging the admissibility and jurisdiction of The Hague to try the six suspects.

"The cases at The Hague were the initiative of the prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo and not the government so issues of admissibility cannot be wished away," he said. He also challenged Rev Timothy Njoya and other members of the civil society to come up with proposed laws that would ensure that victims of any injustices are protected. "Existing laws only protect witnesses and there are no laws that protect victims of the offences and that’s why I want to challenge the civil society to come up with proposals that would help establish strong laws," he stated.

He, however, confirmed that the cabinet had approved the bill for local tribunal and would continue to cooperate and support ICC. "The crimes were committed on our soil and we have to deal with the consequences, that’s why a local tribunal would be established to deal with lesser crimes," he added.